The Red Garden

I am a HUGE fan of Alice Hoffman, and her latest book does not disappoint. Beautifully written, evocative, mystical... The Red Garden is all of those things. The novel is really almost a series of short stories, all connected by the Massachusetts town in which they occur from it's beginnings to the present day. The garden of the title is an area in the yard of the founder's house where everything that's planted grows red - lilacs, green beans, cucumbers, all red. It plays a role in several of the chapters, and it acts as a sort of frame for the novel.

Sure, there's some stretching of reality - that's what Hoffman does. But if you're a fan of the genre, you'll love this book. The characters are well-written and very representative of their era (though I found the town overly peopled with gorgeous men and beautiful women... isn't anyone just average looking?), but I love the strength of Hoffman's female characters, and the ladies of Blackwell do not disappoint.

The Red Garden